


That's what you get for waking up in Vegas

by cutebutpsyco



Series: Tony Stark Bingo 2019 Fills [5]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Crack, F/M, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark at MIT, Las Vegas, Las Vegas Wedding, M/M, Maria Rambeau is Rhodey's sister, Not Beta Read, Tony Stark Bingo 2019, Tony is 17 and Rhodey is 19, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-19
Updated: 2019-03-19
Packaged: 2019-11-25 21:26:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18171662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cutebutpsyco/pseuds/cutebutpsyco
Summary: TONY STARK BINGO. FILL A1: MIT YEARS ||Tony tried to looking for an answer to that specific question, but there were none that he could provide. He ran a hand in his hair and then went back staring at the empty wall in front of him. “I don’t know, but I’m out of cash and my fake ID isn’t any longer in my wallet, and I think we couldn’t find the key of the room last night.”





	That's what you get for waking up in Vegas

**Author's Note:**

> This is pure crack, but I loved the idea. Also in Iron Man 2 Rhodey wears a ring so I was "why not?"  
> For shipping purposes (and because this is a headcanon of mine that popped in my head while I was watching Captain Marvel for the first time) Maria Rambeau is Rhodey's lil sister. 
> 
> As always, the only things that belong to me are the mistakes. Title from "Waking up in Vegas" by Kary Perry, which lyrics I used and you can find in italic within the fic itself.

_You gotta help me out,_  
_It’s all a blur last night,_  
_We need a taxi_  
_Cause you’re hung over and I’m broke._

_I lost my fake I.D._  
_But you lost the motel key,_  
_Spare me your freaking dirty looks now_  
_Don’t blame me._

Tony opened his eyes to the worse headache he bet had, and he had been used to those with the passing of the years, despite being seventeen. Nobody really wanted to say no to Howard Stark’s son and, for that, Tony was glad to his old man. If only he could remember which was the occasion he was drinking to, though, well, that would have been an improvement. He took a good look at his surroundings and realized that it didn’t help.

He was in what looked like the hallway of some cheap motel, which was weird for him at least for two out of the three words that crossed his mind. He didn’t do cheap motels. The hallway part was good, it wouldn’t be the first time that he was too trashed to find his room. He seated, feeling everything turning around him and then glanced at his body, looking for his wallet. Which was close to his clothes, miraculously. Less so, though, it was also empty from cash. His credit cards were still there, but he wasn’t going to use them anytime soon. At least until his father could monitor them. Pushing back the sensation to vomit everything he had in his stomach, Stark dared to watch a little bit further. His clothes were folded on a chair not so far from where he passed away, but he couldn’t find his fake ID in the pockets of his pants. Fuck! That thing was his little masterpiece, with a working chip and everything.

Despite that, the missing ID brought back to his memory that he created that to join Rhodey and some other of the older guy’s friends in Las Vegas. There was probably where he was. Which meant that, at least, he wasn’t alone, and that was good. Without thinking about the fact that he must find his boxers, sooner or later, Tony dressed back in his pants and shirt and then started to look around him, that was the moment when his eyes met a muscular body by his side.  
The man seemed to be naked, around three or four years older than Tony was, and his dark skin made out his shoulder blades. He had short black hair and the light blue shirt that Stark could see was dangerously similar to the one he remembered his best friend was wearing the night before.

Now, Tony had always considered Rhodey to be attractive, and it wasn’t the first time he found himself questioning about his sexuality, but the idea of having slept with the man was freaking him out. He would lie to himself if he denied having fantasized about that, but Jim was his best friend, his only friend, and throwing everything away for something he couldn’t even remember was a huge, enormous, gigantic waste. And something he couldn’t do anything about.  
He pushed himself up, even more, finding face to face with a very sleepy Rhodey and then shook him until his friend opened his eyes.

“Tones?” He asked, getting immediately up and regretting it a moment later. “What…? Why are we in the middle of a hallway?”

Tony tried to look for an answer to that specific question, but there were none that he could provide. He ran a hand in his hair and then went back staring at the empty wall in front of him. “I don’t know, but I’m out of cash and my fake ID isn’t any longer in my wallet, and I think we couldn’t find the key of the room last night.”

Rhodey nodded as if anything of what Tony said made any sense and then just let his back fall again against the moquette where they very likely spent the night, one hand pressed on his eyes. Tony wished to be able to do the same, but his brain was screaming at him to understand how he and his best friend ended up in that situation. And why they were naked.

_You wanna cash out_  
_And get the hell outta town_  
_Don’t be a baby_  
_Remember what you told me_

_Shut up, and put your money where your mouth is_  
_That’s what you get from waking up in Vegas._  
_Get up, and shake the glitter off your clothes now_  
_That’s what you get from waking up in Vegas._

They spent the following twenty minutes or so after they got dressed trying to understand what happened. At the end of an unprolific conversation, Tony realized Rhodey remembered a little bit more than he did. And more important, he seemed to know where Tony’s cash went while he still had no idea about his ID. It wasn’t like he needed one, Tony Stark was a known name, the problem was that he didn’t want to be recognized.

Rhodey looked at him for a moment before standing up and heading to the ice machine at the end of the hallway stating that they were dehydrated and ice would help. The younger man wasn’t so sure about that, but at least he could ask his best friend a hand to get up himself. The idea of bringing his body in a different position for the semi lying one in which he was against the floor by his own was unbearable for his body.

“Ok, so, maybe, you can withdraw and we can come back to MIT and just, I don’t have a fucking clue,” Jim turned toward Tony, an eyebrow elegantly raised, as far as it could look elegant while having the face of a person who’s nursing the worst headache ever.

“You are a billionaire, and you still have your credit cards with you, it’s not like I don’t want to pay but -” Tony knew what was coming next, and he hated it like all the other times. He just wasn’t in the right state of mind to discuss about his money in a situation like that.

“Look, I’ll give you the money back as soon as we are away from Las Vegas,” He said. “My father is the billionaire and the last thing I want is for him to know where I am now, ok?”

And, despite what Stark was thinking about, Rhodey just nodded and handed him a small bucket filled with ice. He didn’t even try to protest or to ask why his father might be interested in looking into his cards movements. And the point was, Tony hated when people handled things to him. He was too conscious that those things could be used to hit him, but he trusted Jim enough.

And yes, probably he was going to regret the previous night, but he was glad that the person he woke up with was James Rhodes. Who showed a piece of ice in his mouth in an extremely filthy way before passing by Tony’s side and brushing something that seemed to be glitter off from his shirt.

“Let’s find an ATM, pretty boy, and then we’ll call a taxi,” He said, and Tony found himself questioning how could Jim look so steady on his feet while he followed him just out of his will of not staying alone.

And with every step he took, he could remember how he totally lost all the cash he had with him to the roulette. And maybe, just maybe, it was part of Jim's fault who was pretty sure that let Tony play was a great idea. The images in his memory seemed to come from a very funny night if only Tony could recall of actually having lived it.

_Why are these lights so bright_  
_Oh, did we get hitched last night, dressed up like Elvis,_  
_Why, am I wearing your class ring?_  
_Don't call your mother_  
_Cause now we're partners in crime_

Walking out of the motel sounded a better idea while the only light that was harassing Tony’s eyes was the one from the lamps in the hallway. Rhodey used his credit card to pay a room they didn’t occupy while Tony was still nursing his ice bucket and then went to take the money, after having asked the receptionist to call a taxi.  
The blonde girl at the other side of the counter seemed used enough to the sight that Tony was probably giving of himself to don’t ask anything, just staring at him for a moment. Stark felt like shit. From the window in the hall, sunlight streamed into the building, and that hit his eyes, making everything almost shine in the golden light of the sun.

Which was beautiful, when your brain wasn't trying to kill you on the spot. For the younger man, though, it was hell on earth. He took a piece of ice and started to suck at it as if it could really provide every kind of help. Which it did, just marginally, and just in time for Jim to come back from the ATM and drag his best friend out in the city. On which a very bright sun was shining happily.

“You can thank me later,” Rhodey said, once they were seated on the backseat of the car. He took out from somewhere a pair of frankly ugly shades which were dark enough to dim the light and, for once, Tony wasn’t going to complain about the design or his outfit.

“I love you, Rhodeybear,” Tony said, sinking with his back in the seat and closing his eyes a moment later. His head and stomach were shit, but, maybe, if he got some hours of sleep before reaching MIT again he would feel better.  
And he was pretty sure that he was half asleep when he felt a strong hand on his arm, softly shaking him into awareness. Rhodey’s face looked completely shocked and the young man was looking at his left finger ring just like another one appeared from nothing.

What Jim was really looking at, though, was something that Tony knew far too well.  
It was the golden ring with his family crest. It was something that Howard created during the war just out of pride and even if Tony considered it to be ugly, he kept the ring because it was the only real gift his father ever gave him without demanding for anything in return. Which was why was weird that Rhodey was wearing it. As James himself seemed to have acknowledged.

“Wait -” Jim said, the moment he could see panic spread all over Tony’s face. “Maybe you didn’t want to lose it at the roulette and asked me to keep it for you?” He said, knowing that his best friend was thinking exactly the same thing that was crossing his mind and being aware of the fact that he didn’t sound convincing at all.

“I remember a man dressed like Elvis,” Tony whispered, and when he closed his eyes — even if Rhodey couldn’t see him — it wasn’t because he was tired.

Rhodey had to beat back the joke which was burning the back of his mind. He simply couldn’t say that his mum would get angry knowing that her son married a billionaire without thinking about inviting her or introducing the guy to her. He didn’t have any memory of the man, but he was pretty sure he entered a chapel at some point of the night. And the ring and what Tony said weren’t just other proves. He did marry his best friend, his seventeen-years-old best friend, in Las Vegas, at nineteen.

Jim liked Tony, a lot, and despite the fact that he had always considered himself straight he enjoyed the flirting going on between them almost daily, but marry him, well, that was a completely different pair of shoes and a huge, huge mess. One he had no idea how to solve.  
The marriage himself wasn’t even legal, probably, but he knew Tony well enough to understand that he would probably freak out about that, just like he did when he confessed Rhodey of being bisexual, so he couldn’t bring that topic up now. He would, Jim decided, pretending to sleep and eventually falling asleep after some moments of silence, just not now.

\--

**35 years later.**

Despite being his best friend’s fiancé, Carol Danvers calling him for a private meeting was something borderline terrifying. When he came back from his merry trip in the space, thanks to the blonde woman, he found himself face to face with something he hadn’t seen in the past twenty years or so. James Rhodes was crushing over someone.

It was subtle, barely understandable for someone who didn’t know Jim so well, but having spent a lot of time by the Colonel’s side brought Tony to know him better than everyone who wasn’t Rhodey’s mum. And, maybe, Stark as well noticed the small smile that crossed Carol’s lips every time she looked at James believing no-one else was watching.

Long story short, after Thanos’s defeating, and against every Avengers’ fansite (which started to place bets on Steve and Bucky’s wedding announcement, Tony and Stephen’s first kiss and on the sex of Gamora and Peter’s kid) Rhodey and Carol went out for a beer, and then to a romantic date, and then another, until he finally asked for the Captain’s hand.

And if someone asked Tony, he would proudly say that they were the ultimate power couple. A thing that he said to the journalist from Forbes who wanted to use that very same title for an article on him and his magic boyfriend (yes, in the end, they did kiss, it didn’t matter that required almost another end of the world before they did it). But, again, he couldn’t guess what Carol might want from him one week before the wedding.

“Hi, tin man,” She said, receiving a roll of Tony’s eyes. She was sipping from a cup of coffee and the presence of another one just meant that Maria Rambeau was around the Compound. Except that what everybody seemed to ignore was that Maria’s maiden name was Rhodes, as in James’s younger sister. Which also meant that Jim was in huge, huge troubles. And very likely, Tony too.

“Carol, how can I help you?” He asked, letting his eyes trailing over the walls of Carol’s room. She decorated them with posters of old movies and of things she missed when she left the Earth in 1995. One of the pictures was a very drunk Tony half naked for the streets of Los Angeles. She didn’t even know he was the subject and when Jim told her, she decided to let that here, just because it was even funnier.

“You know, I was looking over some old documents for the wedding and let’s just say that you might have beaten me in marrying Jim?” And she let slide toward him a very old picture from some gossip journal in which he was kissing Rhodey, their hands joined in front of their sealed lips.

Tony rose his eyes from the photo the moment Maria walked into the room and he knew he wouldn’t have any kind of help from his best friend’s sister. “Ok, girls, I swear I can explain…”

**Author's Note:**

> kudos and comments are the air I breathe and the reason why I write, so make ur girl happy. 
> 
> **wanna say 'hi'? do you have a prompt for me?** find me on [tumblr](https://ironstrange-is-the-endgame.tumblr.com/).  
> find my entire bingo card on [dreamwidth](https://myrcellabaratheon.dreamwidth.org/3109.html) and [pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.io/posts/481274).


End file.
